Getting to know the VEXXHOST CloudConsole

In this post, we briefly overview the CloudConsole along with some of its benefits and functionalities.

The VEXXHOST CloudConsole is a dashboard that allows you to control your cloud environment. The CloudConsole contains all the tools and services needed to create and modify servers, containers, networks and more. In this post, we'll get to see a brief overview of the console along with some of its benefits and functionalities.

Inspired by Horizon

Horizon is an OpenStack project initiated to provide a web-based dashboard. The CloudConsole is based on OpenStack's Horizon project. The OpenStack dashboard project is a web-based interface interacting with services such as compute, network and DNS.

How to get to the CloudConsole

Here is a quick guide on how to access the CloudConsole:

1. Click the 'Client Area' link at the top right corner of the homepage.
2. Enter your username and password.Note: If you do not have an account, you can create one by clicking the 'Account' at the top of the page followed by 'Register'.
3. Once you have successfully logged in, click the 'CloudConsole' link at the top of the portal page.Note: You must update your billing information before accessing the CloudConsole as this will allow you to instantly start creating servers.
4. You will now be redirected to the page containing your OpenStack login credentials. In a new tab, open the dashboard URL provided. Use the login credentials provided to log into the CloudConsole.Note: Don't forget to save the credentials you've just used in a safe place as you'll need them every time you log into the cloud console.
   Compute

At the top of the CloudConsole, you can see the menu containing different services. The first tab being compute. Compute is undoubtedly the most important service you will need for your cloud infrastructure. It allows you to create, modify and delete instances within seconds. To create an instance simply click on 'launch instance'. This will prompt a window allowing you to configure the instance to fit your needs. The many flexible options give you access to multiple choices for flavours, form factors and storage options. This will also give you access to tools such as private networking capabilities and cloud security groups which will protect and secure your data. Other instance configuration options include network ports, key pairs and server groups. Once your instance configurations match your needs, click on the launch instance.

Container Infrastructure

The second cloud service tool in the CloudConsole is the container infrastructure. This service allows you to create, modify and delete clusters. You can also create cluster templates by choosing the 'cluster template' tab and clicking 'create cluster template'.

Network

The third service offered in the CloudConsole is the cloud networking service. This service is powered by OpenStack's networking project Neutron which allows you to connect your website or app to a database, or to set up a site-to-site VPN. This part of the CloudConsole will give you access to manage your network topology, routers, VPN and architecture.

Orchestration

The following cloud service is cloud orchestration. The service which is powered by the OpenStack project Heat gives you access to stacks and resource types such as instances, floating IPs, volumes and security groups. The provided templates give you a fast and easy way to deploy your cloud infrastructure in a consistent and repeatable manner within minutes.

DNS

The next cloud service available on the VEXXHOST CloudConsole is the domain name system (DNS). This service allows you to maintain the integrity and functionality of your DNS. In the CloudConsole you can quickly create, manage and delete DNS zones.

Data Processing

In the data processing tab, you have access to fully managed big data tools. The service allows you to easily access data processing tools and plugins such as Hadoop and Cloudera. For example, opting for the Vanilla Apache Hadoop plugin provides you with the ability to launch upstream Vanilla Apache Hadoop cluster without any management consoles. In the CloudConsole, you can create clusters and choose between the available plugins.

Object Storage

The last service on the VEXXHOST CloudConsole is cloud Object Storage. This service is powered by the OpenStack project Swift. The highly scalable and distributed object storage uses clusters of standardized servers to store virtual machine images as well as user files.

This concludes our overview of the VEXXHOST CloudConsole. If you have any questions about the console, please do not hesitate to contact a team member at support@vexxhost.com. We'll be more than happy to answer any questions you may still have!

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